Give Life To Love
by Radioactive Flying Hedgehogs
Summary: Cloud has been separated from his ex-wife for years, but to make visiting each parent easier for the kids he chooses to move to Hollow Bastion where he gets the chance to fall in love again to the tune of one Squall Leonhart, a fellow father introduced through their shared babysitter. Cleon with various other pairings, no Akuroku, RiSo, etc until much later, rating may change
1. Chapter 1

Cloud pulled his car into a parking spot, a grateful sigh falling from his lips at finally getting to their destination as he put it in park. Before he could rest long though the two children in the backseat clamored for attention and their freedom at noticing the lack of movement. Thus his relief was short lived as he unbuckled himself and stepped out of the vehicle. He had known that the trip would be tough, Midgar wasn't exactly close to their new home of Hollow Bastion, but he hadn't quite expected the trouble the twins put him through on the journey.

"Calm down you two," The blond murmured as he set about unbuckling the child that was seated behind him.

"But Dad~ We're tired of being in the car," The other child whined as he wiggled in his seat.

"It's not going to kill you to wait two more minutes to get into the house Sora," Cloud replied simply as he set the first boy on the ground. "Now don't forget Nanaki, Roxas," He then said as he picked up a carrier that was sitting by the boy's feet before he handed it over to the other blond.

"Never forget Nanaki," The small boy murmured as he took the carrier, a serious expression on his face. He received a meow in reply from inside the cage that softened his expression into a small smile.

After he had done that Cloud shut the door, reappearing a moment later on the other side.

"Calm down Sora," He grunted out as he struggled to unbuckle the squirming six year old from his booster seat. It didn't work very well considering Sora continued his struggle for freedom.

Once he had wrangled the seat belt loose he scooped the child up and shut the door before heading towards the apartment they would soon be living in. He wished it could have been a house, but on his salary he could only afford what could be described as a four-plex. From the looks of the building it looked like two floors with two apartments on each floor. Luckily their apartment was on the ground floor, number 2C, the two he was guessing having to do with the building number since there appeared to be one more identical building on both sides.

Pulling out the key he'd gotten from the building manager earlier that day he unlocked the door and ushered Roxas inside, reminding him to be gentle with Nanaki. Which was difficult considering his other son was practically flailing in his arms in his attempt to free himself. Grunting the twenty-seven year old set (practically dropped) the boy down, sighing as he watched the child dart off to explore. Looking back to Roxas he smiled fondly when he noticed his decidedly quieter kid staring off after his brother. He was obviously trying to keep calm since he'd been told to be careful with the cat, but just by looking at him one could tell he wanted to explore as well.

"Roxas, give me Nanaki and you can go check out the place with Sora," The blond said crouching down and holding out his hand for the carrier.

The smaller male frowned thoughtfully for a minute before he carefully handed over the carrier to his father. After one last glance at the cage the six year old dashed after his brother, a smile on his face. Standing back up Cloud looked around the living room, glad to see that it looked as though the movers had gotten everything here safely. Luckily he didn't have to worry about his bike since his friend Vincent had agreed to store it at his home, since it wasn't exactly child friendly, until he was able to get it. On the other hand that also meant that he would have to start moving things around with two children underfoot. Before he could even begin to really think about it he was startled by a loud knock on the door. Wondering who it could be the blond walked over to the door and opened it, revealing two people he knew very well.

"Cloud!" The shorter one shouted jumping at him with her arms outstretched in her excitement, clearly aiming for a hug.

Luckily he managed to move the poor cat away before she did though he was no less happy with the situation, meowing loudly at being jostled.

"What are you guys doing here?" The spiky haired male questioned, ignoring his cat in favor of giving his two friends a look of confusion.

"Well that's some way to greet the people who came here to help," Tifa replied as she crossed her arms, pretending to be offended.

"You know I didn't mean it that way," He responded back blandly, overlooking the fact that Yuffie was still hanging around his neck like some sort of bizarre necklace. She only removed herself once the twins, who had come to investigate the noise, ran over yelling about their 'aunts'.

"Kiddos!" Yuffie responded in kind as she crouched down to catch the two in a hug before standing up and twirling them in circles.

The boys squealed in happiness as they were spun, Cloud watching on with barely disguised affection. Tifa noticed and prodded the taller man in the ribs, a knowing look on her face.

"Shut up," He muttered back as he schooled his face back into his indifferent mask.

"You're not fooling anyone," She replied back as she returned her attention to the children, "How was the move?".

He shrugged lightly as he set about letting the cat out of his carrier. It took him a minute to reply, choosing instead to watch the feline sniff the carpet curiously.

"It was long. The boys made me stop constantly. Nanaki let us know all the time that he did not like the car ride," Cloud ended up saying as he straightened back up, leaving the carrier on the ground.

"What did you expect traveling with two six year olds?" The long haired woman replied with a light chuckle.

"Yeah I know, but being here will be better for them," The blond muttered watching as his children bowled Yuffie over and proceeded to terrorize her.

"But what about you?" She whispered turning her head slightly to gaze at her friend worriedly. They had kept in close contact over the years and she seemed to know him better than he knew himself, often taking it upon herself to watch out for him.

"It isn't about me anymore," He said simply as he moved away from her gaze and over to the pile of boxes and furniture, hoping to escape the conversation. It didn't work as Tifa just ended up following after him anyways, leaving Yuffie to entertain the boys.

"Maybe not Cloud, but you deserve to be happy too, not just them and not just Aerith," The older woman replied seriously, refusing to let the conversation drop.

"Tifa I just transferred and moved to a new town. I don't have time to be dating. Especially not with two six year olds, I'm busy enough," He replied seriously, glaring at the woman for butting into his love life...again.

"I'm not talking about right now Cloud. I'm talking about the near future. Once you all have settled in. Why not give it a try then?" The black haired woman retorted, giving his glare back two fold.

The blond didn't reply immediately, just stared unflinchingly for a minute before he suddenly seemed to deflate.

"As you can see the last time I tried it didn't work out too well," He practically mumbled motioning to the twins as his eyes lowered to one of the boxes.

Tifa let out a snort and rolled her eyes at his defeatist attitude.

"We all knew that your relationship with Aerith was doomed from the start. It was obvious that she was still pining after Zack at the time. The fact that you two managed to spawn these cuties was a surprise though," She replied with a light shrug of her shoulders, uncaring about the sharp glare he sent her way at her words. "Don't get all huffy with me Cloud Strife, you knew it too. The fact was that you both were lonely and you sought comfort with each other. That's it," Tifa replied bluntly as she reached over to flick her friend on the head. "Plus you've spent too long moping by yourself. She's moved on, why can't you?" The woman added moving he hands to her hips and pointedly not mentioning that Aerith had moved on to who she had originally wanted in the first place.

"As you can see Tifa I have my hands full with Sora and Roxas," Cloud replied nodding his head to the kids as he picked up a box marked _boy's room_ before he walked off down the hall. Said woman huffed before grabbing another one marked for their room and following him.

"Yeah, but now you're here not back in Midgar. You have friends who can watch them for a night so you can go out and relax and maybe find someone," She responded setting her box down beside his before they went to repeat the process.

Cloud frowned finding it hard to come up with a rebuttal to what she was saying. It wasn't even because she was wrong. He knew better than anyone else how long it had been since he had been with someone, but it was that stretch of time that bothered him. He'd been out of the so called game for so long that his skills were rusty, if they could even be called that. Going back out into the dating scene unnerved him and it would be a much better use of his energy to focus on the twins. He opened his mouth to reply.

"Don't even think about saying anything about Sora and Roxas needing you more. You already spend most of your time with them that I'm sure they're getting sick of you as is. Not to mention they're almost ready to start elementary school anyways," Tifa interrupted as she shoved a large box into his arms.

"That's a year away," He replied with a huff, securing his hold on the box as she picked up one for herself.

"Yeah but would you rather they pitch a fit when you leave them with a stranger or have them get used to being away from you for periods of time?" She questioned seriously as they maneuvered around the group wrestling on the floor.

"They spend time at their mother's house, more so now that we live in the same town," Cloud replied as they headed to his room this time.

"That's their mother you idiot. I'm talking about people they don't know as well," The long haired woman said rolling her eyes in response.

Cloud grumbled unintelligibly instead of actually replying, which earned him a rough kick on the rear. He hated to admit it, but the blond didn't like the thought of his boys going to school. It meant they were growing up and that much closer to leaving him. For years he had been giving them his undivided attention and they responded with love for him. The older they got though the more independent they were sure to become...well Sora at least. The older twin took more after his mother and enjoyed chatting to people, even when he could barely utter words. Roxas on the other hand had a harder time dealing with new people and preferred to stick around those he had known for awhile. Hell it had taken him nearly two years to even accept Aerith's husband and he still refused to call him dad, instead preferring to refer to him by his given name. Cloud wasn't complaining.

"Just think about it alright?" Tifa ended up saying on their way back to the living room, giving Cloud what he assumed to be a hopeful look.

He had been about to reply with an answer that she'd probably immediately deem wishy washy before she interrupted him.

"And it doesn't have to be a girl either Cloud! Maybe a man is what you need to cheer yourself up and don't try to deny it either. I've seen you looking at some ass before," The long haired woman blurted out cheerfully as she gave the younger man a supportive grin.

Cloud wanted to reply, he really did, but they had reached the living room and this was not a conversation he wanted his children hearing. It had nothing at all to do with the fact that he was blushing lightly at his friend's astute observations. Of course he really shouldn't have been surprised by it in the first place, what with her constantly butting into his life and all. Instead he chose to turn his attention to the two rowdy children running at him upon Yuffie shouting to 'slay the beast' in the worst medieval voice he had ever heard. Placing a smile on his face the blond crouched down and held out his hands as if he were going to tickle the two boys. This caused them to squeal happily and detour to go hide behind Tifa's legs, shouting at her to save them.

"Oh I don't know boys...what would happen if I were to tell you...that I'm a tickle monster too!" She said contemplatively before turning around with a grin on her face and her arms outstretched.

This caused their laughter to get even louder before they ran from her as well, only to run straight into Yuffie's arms. The two boys screamed as she tickled them mercilessly, flailing in her arms to try and escape. It worked phenomenally well if only due to the fact that there was two of them and not just one. Once free the twins darted off to hide in their room, the self declared ninja right on their heels. Once the noise died down in the living room Cloud chuckled softly before he returned to the boxes. Fortunately having someone there to help with both boxes and children made things go by a lot faster.

By the time six o'clock came around they had all of the containers in their appropriate rooms and even some unpacked, though that was mostly the twin's things and kitchen items. Yuffie even managed to tire out the boys a few hours ago so they napped while she got to help out. Now that everything was for the most part done the blond could focus on dinner. Sadly they had no actual food in the house, he would have to go shopping tomorrow, so for the moment he just ordered some pizza and offered to feed his friends as well to thank them for their help. They of course agreed, the smaller woman a great deal more enthusiastically.

When the food arrived Cloud made the kids their plates first and settled them down on the floor, the kitchen table was covered in boxes, before he made his own. He made sure to sit across from them to make sure that they didn't make too big of a mess, Tifa and Yuffie doing the same on either side of him. Nanaki wanted to come and join in, but he kept getting shooed away since every time he got close he almost got caught by grabby pizza covered hands. Eventually the feline settled himself on the partition between the living room and kitchen, looking down at his humans approvingly.

Once Sora and Roxas finished their food their father scooped them up and hauled them off to the bathroom, asking over his shoulder if they could take care of the plates. He quickly had to turn his attention to the boys again though because they began to make it plenty clear that they didn't want a bath. Grunting he all but tossed them into the bathroom before locking the door behind to help prevent escape. From there it was a matter of patience and practice to get the kids down to their skivvies, but as revenge they covered every nearby surface in pizza sauce. All that could be heard from outside was Cloud grunting and ordering his children around as they protested their need for a bath. It took him nearly an hour to clean them both and by the time he was done he may as well have taken one with them since he was soaked from all of the water they splashed about.

"Geez Cloud, go swimming?" Yuffie snickered out behind her hand as she watched the bathroom door open to reveal two newly clean children and their drenched father.

Sora and Roxas bolted for their bedroom as soon as the door was open leaving their dad to deal with his two mischievous friends and the mess they left behind.

"Stuff it Kisaragi," The spiky haired blond grunted in reply as he hauled all of the dirty clothes and towels to the hamper, cleaning everything as he went.

"Are they always like this around bath time?" Tifa asked curiously, feeling a little bad if so.

He shook his head no in response.

"Normally Roxas tends to do pretty well, but Sora is a bit of a monster about it. Every now and then though they sync up and it's either the calmest bath time ever or...this," He ended up replying as he finished cleaning up the bathroom.

"Have you tried bathing them separately?" She asked tilting her head lightly to the left.

"Yeah, but they get into more mischief when I can only see one of them," He replied with another shake of his head, blinking when he heard a crash come from the boy's room.

"Alright you two, get out, I have to put the tiny terrors to bed," Cloud said as he proceeded to push his friends towards the front door.

"But it's only like seven o'clock!" Yuffie protested, digging her heels in as best as she could into the carpet.

"You do realize it'll take me like two hours just to get them to stay in bed right?" He grumbled back as he held them up and opened the front door at the same time.

"Alright Cloudy, but you owe us a drink each and some catching up time without children," Tifa replied with a smile as she stepped outside.

"Make that two each!" Yuffie shouted back as she was shoved out behind the other woman.

"Fine fine, just go home you two," Cloud responded waving the two off before he shut the door.

He waited until he could here the sounds of their cars leaving before he stomped off to his kid's room mentioning that if he so much as saw a hair out of bed there would be consequences to pay, lpud enough for the boys to hear, but still mindful of his neighbors. He could here muted giggles coming from the room as the twins scrambled to get into their beds. He stood outside of the door for a moment before he peeked in to see them cuddled on Sora's bed, wiggling too much to be asleep, but at least in a bed. After closing the door once more he headed to the kitchen wondering how long it was appropriate to let them continue sharing a bed.

The blond understood that they were close and the move had likely unsettled them no matter their outward behavior at least a little. They were getting older though and he knew eventually they would have to start staying in their own beds and eventually their own rooms if they got a house someday.

Sighing the lithe male grabbed a glass from the cabinet and filled it with water from the sink. Once it was filled he shut off the tap and moved to lean against the counter. Taking a sip he looked around the kitchen and the bit he could see of the living room. It was a little smaller than their last place, but for what he was paying it wasn't too bad. He'd also heard that there was another child living in their building so maybe the boys would be able to make a friend. Before any of that though he was going to have to go shopping and look for a babysitter. He had a few days off before he hand to go in to work, time to get settled. He was thankful for that though, even more thankful for his uncle to give him a job here. Unfortunately he wouldn't be able to bring the boys to work with him like he could at his last job. This time he would be working as a mechanic so it would be too dangerous to let them run around there.

Cloud wasn't looking forward to the process of having to find a babysitter that would work for the twins. The last one had been a lucky find, a friend of his best friend...former best friend? Ex-wife's husband? Either way the man's name was Angeal and the boys had surprisingly liked the guy a lot. He probably should have asked Yuffie if she knew anyone that was available before he kicked her out. Though he was jolted out of his thoughts by Nanaki meowing by his feet.

"You ought to be hungry by now huh boy?" Cloud murmured as he bent down to lightly scratch the feline behind the ears, receiving a purr in return.

"Alright let me find your food," He then said setting his glass down ad rummaging through the cabinets for the cat's food bowls and food.

Once he had found both the blond filled one with water and one with food before setting them both on the ground and out of the way. The long haired cat meowed happily as he trotted over to the bowl and settled himself down to eat. Cloud smiled at the animal before he moved over to his glass and downed the rest of it's contents. It was as he was putting the glass in the dishwasher that he heard muffled talking coming from down the hall.

"Boys!" He called over his shoulder as he shut the dishwasher, "I better not be hearing you playing!"

The noise quickly escalated before quieting down once again, assuring the blond that they had once more dived into one of their beds. This scene happened a total of six more times before the twins tuckered themselves out enough to fall asleep for the night. Once he was sure that they were asleep did he set about preparing himself for bed, including locking the front door. He then went to his own room where the bare essentials for his bed had been unpacked as well as the boxes with his clothes opened. He stripped down to his boxers, since small children meant the inability to sleep naked, before he slipped into bed. Yawning lightly he pulled the covers up, vaguely hearing the cat pad into the room and join him on the bed. Reaching over he gave Nanaki a few light strokes on the head before he settled down to sleep, slipping easily into the dream realm after the day he had.

He was woken up in the middle of the night to a sniffling noise off the side of his bed and a light tugging on his blanket. Blinking his eyes open he spotted Sora standing off to the side of his bed wiping his eyes with one hand and holding the blanket with the other.

"What's wrong S'ra?" He mumbled, having been woken up out of a deep sleep.

"I...I had..a bad dream," The brunette haltingly said, voice wavering lightly as he tried to talk without crying more.

"Okay okay, come here," The older man said soothingly as he reached over and scooped the six year old into his bed.

Once the boy was on the bed he pulled the covers over him and settled back down to go back to sleep.

"Good night Sora," The blond murmured softly, leaning his head down a bit to kiss the child on the head.

"Night daddy," Sora replied already sounding sleepy as he snuggled into his dad's side.

As they were drifting off he heard another pair of feet padding softly into the room. This time instead of tears and blanket tugging the other twin simply crawled into bed on his father's other side. Cloud grunted lightly and shifted, pulling Roxas to his other side.

"Night Roxas," He grunted out automatically moving to give his other son a kiss as well.

"Night dad," The child murmured as he cuddled close.

And that's how they fell asleep on their first night in their new home. All three Strifes cuddled together with Nanaki snoozing at the head of the bed.

(Afterword: Soooooooo I made another story ^^ I can't help it I have so many ideasssss. Though I've decided that there will be no set schedule for updates ((I'm having too many problems at home for that)) so I will just be updating whichever ones I feel like. I'll try not to update the same one multiple times in a row, but it might happen depending on how I'm feeling. Either way I hope you guys like this one ^^)


	2. Chapter 2

Cloud was woke up the next morning to a muffled thud from somewhere outside of his room. Blinking blearily the blond looked over the bed to see if the boys were awake. Roxas was still cuddled up to his side, hair a mess, but definitely still deep in dreamland. A glance to his other side told the older man that it was indeed his more rowdy child that was awake. Groaning he sat up and stretched lightly before he tried to slip out of bed without waking the younger twin. Scratching his hair lightly the man glanced at his alarm clock as he walked out of the room.

The clock had said that it was seven am so that wasn't an unreasonable time for Sora to be awake. In fact the little brunette was normally awake around six while his brother tended to sleep in more. Yawning the spiky haired male walked down the short hallway to the boys' room and looked in to see a mess. It looked like several boxes of their clothes had been knocked over creating a mess of color all over the floor. Standing in the middle of said mess was Sora who looked to have been trying to dress himself if the backwards pants and inside out shirt meant anything.

"Good morning Sora," The blond muttered successfully startling the child who had been frantically trying to pick up the clothes.

Sora jumped nearly a foot in the air before he turned to look at his father, looking properly mortified for what he had done.

"I'm sorry Daddy I was just...just trying to get dressed," The brunette murmured as his bottom lip started to tremble in a warning of the boy's oncoming tears.

"I didn't mean to make a mess, I promise I won't do it again so let's not move again," The six year old continued on, voice warbling as he got increasingly more upset.

Cloud gave his son a sad look as he walked over and crouched down to the others level.

"Now what makes you think we would move again Sora? We just got here you know," The blond asked curiously as he gently wiped away the younger male's tears before he pulled him into a hug.

"B-Because that's why we moved right? You kept getting mad at us because our room was messy," The blue eyed boy replied sniffling lightly as he tried to calm himself down.

"No Sora that's not why we moved. Yeah I was mad about that, but that's because I was trying to pack so we could leave. The reason we moved here was so that we could be closer to your mom," The older male explained softly so as not to upset the boy anymore.

"But I thought you and mom didn't love each other anymore. That's why she has Papa Zack right?" The younger boy replied looking thoroughly confused.

Before Cloud had a chance to reply Roxas interrupted from the doorway, "Zack isn't our Papa Sora".

The younger twin had a scowl on his face, though still had that sleepy look to him like he had just rolled out of bed.

"Yeah he is Roxas, they got married. That makes him a Papa," Sora replied seriously as he placed his small hands on his hips.

"No it doesn't Sora, Dad is our Papa. Zack can't be our Papa too," The blond boy bit back starting to get angry.

"Calm down boys," Cloud interrupted before the argument could turn into a full out tiny tot brawl.

"We weren't talking about whether or not Zack could be your dad too, we were talking about why we moved okay?" The older male explained as he motioned for Roxas to come join them on the floor.

The smaller of the two boys made a conflicted face before he slowly walked over to his dad's other side and sat down, making sure to be as far away from Sora as he could. His father smiled anyways and gave the kid a gently pat on the head for being good. Then upon the brunette's protests gave him one as well.

"Now like I was saying, we moved here to be closer to your mother and not because we still love each other. I needed to be closer to her so that I had someone who could possibly help watch you guys more," He explained as simply as he could manage though the boys still looked confused.

"But you already watch us a lot. Why does someone else need to watch us? Do you not love us anymore like Mom?" Roxas asked looking hurt at the thought of his father leaving him like their mom did.

Upon hearing this Sora began to look upset again and Cloud had to quickly shush them both before they started crying.

"No no no of course I love you both, but my job wasn't paying paying enough to take care of you guys so I got a new one here. This new job has more hours so I won't be able to watch you two as much. That's why we moved here, you'll get to spend more time with your mom and you'll get a new babysitter when she can't watch you," The blond told them, watching their faces to see how they would take the news.

"What about Mr. Angeal? He's not out babysitter anymore?" Sora asked worriedly as he looked up at his father.

"No he's not. Angeal lives back in Midgar, that's too far away to come babysit so I have to find a new one," The blond replied with a short shake of his head.

"But I like Angeal, I don't want another one," Roxas replied stubbornly as he crossed his arms.

"I know you do Roxas, but he just can't come so I'll try to find you a babysitter you'll like okay?" He responded though he only got a small hmph in reply.

The short haired male sighed lightly before he changed the subject to breakfast and going to get food. This topic change brought a smile to Sora's face and though his twin said nothing he still cooperated when it was time to get dressed. Of course this meant the brunette's attempt at dressing himself was fixed before Cloud went to get himself dressed as well. Once everyone was prepared he grabbed the keys to the car and led the twins out, locking the door behind him. It was as he was leading the boys to the car when they heard a door from one of the upstairs apartments open and close.

Looking up Cloud saw a young woman walking down the stairs holding the hand of a girl who looked to be the twins' age. The girl was the first to notice the new residents and she gave them a small smile and wave. Cloud waved back gaining the attention of the blond woman in the pantsuit.

"Oh you must be the new neighbors, the landlord mentioned you would be moving in soon," The woman said as they descended the stairs, soon reaching the bottom.

"Yes my name is Cloud Strife and these are my boys Sora and Roxas," The taller male replied walking over to shake her hand after he had introduced his family.

"Pleasure to meet you Mr. Strife," She replied as she shook his hand, offering a small smile.

"Please call me Cloud, Mr. Strife makes me feel..well old," The blue eyed male responded a little sheepishly.

"I'll make a note of it. My name's Elena Kefalas and this is my niece Namine," The woman said before she introduced both herself and the young girl standing quietly at her side.

At the mention of her name Namine once more gave a small wave, this time to the twins who were giving her wary but curious looks. Though Cloud was a bit relieved to hear that the girl was her niece and not her daughter. He meant no offense to Elena, but she did not appear old enough to have a child of that age.

"It's nice to meet you both and I'm sure Sora and Roxas are glad to meet you as well," Cloud replied as he lightly prodded his boys to respond.

"Nice to meet you," Was echoed to the women in varying degrees of excitement.

"Now I'm sure you all will have plenty of time to get to know each other in the future, but for now Namine we must be getting you to Miss Baytes," Elena said giving her new neighbors a smile and a light wave goodbye.

"It was nice to meet you all, goodbye," The small blond murmured as she mimicked what the older woman did.

"Have a nice day," Cloud said with a nod of his head, the boys both saying goodbye as well.

Once they had said their goodbyes the two turned to head to a small black SUV. Cloud in turn herded his children into his station wagon and buckled them in. When they were settled he hopped into the driver's seat and started the car. After pulling out his car he turned and headed to the store he remembered seeing on their way into town.

Luckily it turned out to be one of those small home owned stores so things were a little cheaper than they would have been in a big chain store. Unfortunately he still had two children with him, granted that Roxas would only trying to sneak snacks into their cart, but Sora was prone to running around and causing havoc. In fact Cloud spent most of the time they were in the store running after Sora and having to double check the cart every five minutes to make sure there weren't any extra things in it. He was sure many of the other patrons in the store were giving him looks, though a few seemed to be sympathetic.

It was as he was pulling another box of candy out of his cart when he heard someone clear their throat behind him. Turning he saw a young man with shaggy blond hair and an apron with the stores logo on it.

"I think this is your son," He said and that's when Cloud saw that he was holding Sora by the hand.

The blond deflated at what this could possibly mean, "What did he do?"

"I caught him trying to climb the shelves to the soda. He didn't break anything, but I figured you would want him back," The young man replied with an understanding smile as he ushered the child towards his father.

Sora clearly didn't want to considering he probably thought that he was going to be punished.

"Thank you...Tidus, I'm sure Sora won't do anything more to cause you problems," The older man responded, glancing at the worker's name tag before his gaze shifted to his oldest child causing the boy to fidget.

"No Mr. Tidus, I'll stay with my dad," The young brunette replied looking only slightly repentant.

Roxas chuckled softly at his brother getting into trouble before his dad glared at him as well.

"Just be good for your dad kid, I'm sure he's working hard for you," Tidus replied with a wide smile as he reached down to ruffle the smaller male's hair before he turned to get back to work.

It was as he was watching the employee walk away that Cloud noticed someone had taken an interest in what had been going on with his family. The man was far away so he couldn't see much detail, especially since said man had noticed his attention and quickly turned away. Feeling lightly embarrassed that another person had witnessed his poor parental control he turned and corralled his children towards the check out lanes. He would get whatever he missed at another date, the blond had had enough of shopping for now.

"I'm sorry dad," Came Sora's voice from slightly behind him.

The blond turned to see the twins holding hands, Sora looking at the ground and Roxas looking worriedly at his brother.

"It's alright Sora, you didn't break anything, but I hope you learned from this," The older male replied as he moved over to affectionately run his fingers through the brunette's hair, having to crouch to do so.

The smaller male nodded his head quickly, nervously glancing up at his father. Cloud smiled in response before he kissed both boys on the head.

"Now come on boys, why don't we go out for breakfast today?" The spiky haired male then said as he rose back to his full height and moved back to the cart to push it.

"Can we go to IHOP?" They both asked in unison as they rushed after the older man.

"If they have an IHOP here we can go," The blue eyed male replied with a nod of his head causing the two children to cheer happily.

Thankfully due to the promise of their favorite breakfast joint the two calmed down and remained by his side as he paid for everything and even helped put the groceries in the car. They did have to stop at the apartment briefly to drop the groceries off if only because a few things needed to remain cool. Once they had done that Cloud drove around until he found out that Hollow Bastion did indeed have an IHOP much to the boys' joy. Though the woman who was to be their waitress did intimidate the kids a bit with the frown she seemed to constantly wear, her name being Paine did nothing to help either.

Despite the unsociable atmosphere around their waitress the food they had was good and the boys had fun coloring in between eating. In fact the blond was pretty sure he caught a hint of a smile on her face at something silly Sora had said.

"Say dad...why can't we come to work with you?" Roxas asked as he watched his father fill in a hat Sora had demanded he color.

That caused the older male to pause before he finished the hat and pushed the paper back over to the brunette who was obviously interested in the answer as well.

"Well you see, I got a job with your great uncle Cid, do you remember him?" The blue eyed male asked as he looked between his two boys. He received a nod from Roxas, but a conflicted look from Sora.

"Is he the old man who smokes a lot?" The spiky haired boy asked curiously as he tilted his head lightly to the side.

"Yeah and you see he owns his own service station of sorts and that's a very dangerous place. You guys can't run around there because you could get hurt very easily," The blond explained seriously.

"But why work there? You should get a job at home," Roxas replied looking equally serious, crossed arms and everything.

"I'm sorry but I can't, Uncle Cid is going to be paying me pretty well and I need the money to take care of you two so that's why I need to find a babysitter soon so I can start making money," He replied giving the younger male an apologetic smile.

Before their conversation could continue Paine arrived with the bill which she set down quietly before asking if everything with the meal was alright. When Cloud told her the food was fine she turned to leave before doing an about-face.

"I apologize if this is rude of me, but am I not mistaken in hearing that you are looking for a babysitter?" The grey haired woman asked curiously as she looked at the blond.

"Uh yeah, do you know any?" Cloud replied hopefully.

"A good friend of mine babysits, her name is Yuna Baytes. She doesn't have too many kids right now so she should have an opening, just give her a call," The short haired woman replied as she took out a pen to write a phone number down on a napkin.

"Uh thanks," The spiky haired male answered back as he took the napkin and put in his pocket.

Paine simply gave him a nod before she took their dishes and left.

"Well boys it looks like I just might have a sitter for you," The blond said turning his head to look at the twins to find both of them pouting at him.

"Now come on boys it'll be fine, you'll see," The twenty seven year old replied with a light chuckle as he then proceeded to herd the two to go pay before they headed home.

The ride back to their apartment was quiet as the twins gave him the silent treatment. It didn't last long though since once they got home they proceeded to run to their room to play with whatever toys had been freed from the moving boxes, leaving their father to put away the groceries alone. Well not totally alone, Nanaki kept him company, but there was only so much conversation you could have with a cat before it got weird. Once he had finished with the groceries the blond went to the kids' room and worked on unpacking the rest of their things as they frolicked under his feet.

He spent most of the day making the apartment feel more like a home, stopping for lunch with the boys before relaxing once they passed out for a nap. However, he will not admit to taking a couple of pictures when he found the twins cuddled together because he thought that they were cute. It didn't matter that there was no one around to witness his momentary lapse into some of the gooier emotions. He then went back to unpacking to distract himself until the children woke up from their impromptu nap. When they did the two of them managed to convince the blond to take them out in search of a park to play at.

Cloud wasn't all too surprised to find that there was a decently sized one not too far from the apartments. They spent quite a bit of time there playing before it was time to go home and start preparing dinner. The walk back was a little quieter than normal since Sora had managed to burn off quite a bit of energy running around, enough so that he managed to finagle his dad into giving him a piggyback ride. Roxas then proceeded to mock how tired his brother was and how much energy he had left until his father gave him a warning nudge with his boot.

As they got closer to their building Cloud noticed that his neighbor Elena had returned from what he was assuming was work with Namine. They were just locking up the car when the new residents got close, the small blond immediately tugging on her guardians pants. Elena seemed to roll her eyes playfully before she ushered the child over. The girl trotted over at the urging, her little white dress flowing behind her. Once she stood in front of Cloud she straightened up her posture and looked him in the eyes, sucking in a deep breath as she did.

"Would you like to come over for dinner tonight?" She asked her voice soft despite the determined look she was giving him.

Glancing over to Elena the spiky haired male saw that she was smiling and nodded to say it was okay. Looking back at the little girl he nodded and gave her a smile.

"I think that sounds like a great idea, what do you think boys?" The older male replied before looking at Roxas and what he could see of Sora.

Predictably the older boy cheered an enthusiastic yes while Roxas merely agreed. It almost made him regret saying yes because the brunette's cheer had been right in his ears and left them ringing for a couple of seconds.

"Alright so we'll expect you all over soon?" Elena then said as she walked over with a small smile, "any allergies?"

"Not unless you count the fear of vegetables," The blue eyed male replied with a laugh as both of his sons stuck their tongues out at him.

"Ah I know that one," The younger woman said giving her niece a look as the small girl pointedly looked at some trees in the distance.

"It's a truly crippling fear," He said wondering if kids just naturally hated anything good for them.

"Would you like any help cooking?" He then added curiously, not wanting to put the burden on her.

"Maybe a little, but this is supposed to be a welcome to the apartment dinner so you'll have to ask the one who orchestrated this whole thing," The brown eyed woman replied as she motioned to Namine.

Namine in turn gave Cloud a very serious look and waited for a good solid minute before she replied, "you can set the table".

"Alright, deal," He replied reaching out to shake her hand as if sealing a deal.

She nodded satisfied and once the handshake was over she began to push on her aunt to encourage her to head back to their home so they could start dinner.

"I'll head over once I get the boys cleaned up," Cloud called after her, receiving a shout of her apartment number in response.

Chuckling he led Roxas over to their apartment and unlocked the door, making sure to duck so Sora didn't hit his head as he walked in. After he closed the door the blond made short work of cleaning the boys up before they made the short trip to the Kefalas apartment. It only took a second after he knocked before the door was practically thrown open by Namine.

"Come in come in," She said excitedly as she ushered the small group inside.

"Elena's in the kitchen Mr. Strife," The child informed him before she grabbed a hand from each of the twins.

"Do you guys wanna see my room?" The petite blond asked even though she was already pulling them down the small hallway that led to the bedrooms.

"Sure!" Sora replied happily as he followed her, Roxas trailing quietly after the both of them.

Once he was sure that the twins would be fine Cloud made his way to the kitchen, which wasn't difficult considering the layout was the same as his own, just reversed. He greeted Elena upon his arrival and proceeded to make conversation as she prepared the food. He would have helped prepare it, but every now and then Namine would poke her head in to make sure he was doing as she said. On the other hand he had managed to learn some things about the two living here, as well as telling her a little bit as to why he was here.

The blond had learned that Namine's mother had been in an accident and was currently unfit to care for a child so Elena was watching her. The little girl was six like Sora and Roxas, but was pretty smart for her age. She also liked to draw and that Cloud shouldn't be surprised if she sent the boys home with some drawings tonight. He also learned that Elena was twenty-one and was working as a security guard. He found that despite being twenty-one he thought that she had a good head on her shoulders and felt glad that Namine was staying with such a caring aunt.

"Oh that reminds me, I think this morning I heard you telling Namine that you guys had to go to a Miss Baytes, correct? Would that happen to be a Yuna Baytes?" The blond asked curiously as he started gathering the dishes needed for dinner.

"Hm? Oh yes that's her. Any particular reason why you wanted to know?" Elena asked curiously as she started dishing out the children's portions.

"Well I need a babysitter soon seeing as I'll be starting work in a couple of days and a waitress at the IHOP we went to earlier suggested her. I was wondering if she was good," The blond replied as he filled some cups with juice.

"Oh yes. Namine loves her and from what I hear around town she seems to be well liked," The short haired woman replied with a nod of her head.

The older male nodded relieved before he turned and called the children for dinner. All talk after that was centered around the children, mostly said children talking about what they had been doing in Namine's room. Eventually though it came to be time to leave and the three of them waved goodbye, Cloud with a handful of drawings like the younger woman predicted. To the eager urging of the twins he stuck them to the fridge with leftover packing tape once they had returned home.

From there it was time for baths, which ended up a lot better than the previous nights attempt. The blue eyed male figured it was the influence of the soft spoken blond that kept both boys behaving this time. Though their energy ramped up once the bath was over. He didn't mind too much so long as they kept it quiet since it was getting late.

Walking out to the living room he flopped down into his recliner and turned on the television. He made sure to keep the volume low just in case something happened with the boys. It was as he was making himself more comfortable that he remembered the napkin in his pocket. Reaching down into his pocket he pulled it out and looked over the number written on it. He decided to give her a call on his cell phone until he thought about how late it was getting, but before he could hang up someone picked up on the other end.

"Yuna speaking". Well...now he couldn't hang up without being rude.

"Hello, is this Yuna Baytes?" He hoped so, Yuna didn't seem to be that common of a name.

"Yes, and this is?" Ok good.

"Ah sorry my name's Cloud Strife. I'm looking for a babysitter and a waitress named Paine said that you might have an open spot?" He really hoped so. Looking for babysitters was not his idea of a good day off.

"I might, can I get some information? Like how many kids, ages, personalities, pay, that sort of thing". Makes sense.

"Ah yes, there are two, twins. They're six years old. The older one is Sora he's pretty gregarious and has quite a bit of energy. Roxas is the younger one. He's the quieter of the two, but he's just as physical as his brother. I start at Cid's Automotive in a couple of days and would need you to watch them from six-thirty until three, roughly five days a week, maybe more. I could pay you twelve dollars an hour for both of them if that's alright". He wasn't sure what good wages for babysitters were so he hoped he wasn't insulting her or anything.

"Wait are you the Cloud Strife as in Cid's nephew Cloud?" How does she know?

"...yes".

"That's great! Cid's my uncle from my mother's side so we're family. I can totally babysit your boys for ten both". Seriously?!

"Are you sure?"

"Positive as long as I get to meet them before the actual babysitting starts".

"Sure, that's fine by me. When would you like to meet? I have the next two days off".

"How about sunday at around noon. I don't have any kids that day so it'd be really easy to meet up".

"That sounds good to me, how about we meet at IHOP?"

"Perfect, I'll see you then Cloud!" -click-

Once the dial tone reached his ears Cloud pulled the phone from his ear and ended the call on his end. He couldn't believe his luck. On one hand he was glad that he had pretty much secured a babysitter for cheaper than he was expecting. On the other hand he hadn't known that his uncle had had any more siblings than his father. That would make him and Yuna cousins. He'd have to talk to Cid about this.

Before that though he had children to wrestle into bed.

"Boys! It's time for bed!" The blond called out as he rose from his seat and headed for the boys' room.

* * *

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(Woot wrote a couple of pages more than the last time, progress~~. Ended here because it just felt right, let me know if you liked the ending or if you think I should have added more. I just liked the imagery of a chapter ending as Cloud walked through a door.)


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